


Friends Like Family

by heretherebemonsters



Series: Eruri Week 2015 [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Presents, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Companions, Companionship, Drinking with friends, Eruri Week, Eruri Week 2015, First Kiss, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gift Giving, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Surprises, eruri - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2015-08-04
Packaged: 2018-04-12 21:10:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4494801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heretherebemonsters/pseuds/heretherebemonsters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi realizes that maybe there's a place for him in the Survey Corps after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friends Like Family

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt Fill for Eruri Week 2015 Day One: Family
> 
> This somehow turned out very seasonal but it was supposed to be all about companionship/forming bonds. So I guess...Christmas in August?

Yuletide had never been a happy time for Levi. He had never put much stock in holidays to begin with but on top of that, December 25th was also his birthday. It wasn’t that he outright opposed birthdays but he didn’t particularly care for celebrating his own. It only served to remind him of his old life before the Survey Corps. Before Erwin. He would rather not remember a time before Erwin.

Nonetheless, such memories inevitably cropped up around this time of year. He found himself thinking of his mother, trying to picture her face in his mind. He had been so young when she’d died but he could still recall her voice, low and smoky, as she had sung to him at night. He remembered her long black hair that had felt like silk between his little fingers. He thought he could vaguely recall her eyes being a shade of stormy gray not unlike his own but he couldn’t be sure. It had been so long ago.

He thought of Kenny too around the holidays, despite how hard he tried not to. The man had however been his primary caretaker for the years that mattered and there was no doubt that he had left an indelible impression on young Levi. It was Kenny who had taught him how to survive, after all, and in his more charitable moments Levi supposed he should be grateful for that, despite the harsh lessons Kenny had dealt out. He surely would have died if Kenny hadn’t taken pity on him. He couldn’t help but wonder if the reason Kenny had raised him at all had more to do with sympathy for Kuchel or whether he had seen something in Levi himself that wouldn’t allow him to abandon the boy. Either way, Levi had learned everything he knew about combat and survival and ruthlessness from Kenny the Ripper, and he had learned well.

Lastly, Levi thought about Farlan and Isabel. His only friends had been dead for over a year now but there were still some days that Levi woke up expecting to see them around the base. Their faces were freshest in his mind and he tried hard to picture them alive and whole and not the way he’d last seen them. He remembered Isabel’s exuberance and her enthusiasm for life, always trying to make the most of whatever cards they were dealt. Levi missed her laugh and her sparkling eyes. He missed Farlan’s biting sense of humor and his simple loyalty. Though Levi had begun to feel more comfortable among the other soldiers in the Corps, he was still very much aware of his status as an Underground thug. He wasn’t deaf to the whispers that went on behind his back. Having Farlan and Isabel with him still would have made it somewhat easier to bear. But they were gone and he was on his own.

Granted, some of the soldiers had gone out of their way to make him feel welcome. Squad Leader Hange had been the first to reach out to him. She was bright and exuberant much like Isabel had been, easily excitable. Levi griped at her for bugging him but secretly he was glad for her company whenever she came around. Her constant chatter made him feel less lonely though he would never admit to that. He let her ramble and she slipped him pieces of saltwater taffy that she bought from the general store in Trost. They both benefited from the arrangement.

Then there was Mike. The other Squad Leader had watched Levi closely for some time after the incident outside the walls on the day that Isabel and Farlan had died, suspicion and distrust in his dark blue eyes. Levi couldn’t say that he blamed him. He knew that Mike was an old and trusted friend of Erwin’s and it wasn’t uncommon to see them together, so it stood to reason that he would keep a watchful eye on Levi. Levi had to admire Mike’s loyalty and his desire to protect his friend. It reminded him of Farlan, honestly. He couldn’t bring himself to feel indignant toward the tall man. Levi knew his behavior that day would have rightly warranted an arrest and trial for assaulting a superior officer so every day that passed without such things happening were a quiet blessing, one he knew was courtesy of Erwin’s judgement alone. Now that a significant amount of time had passed since that day and Levi had been mostly well behaved, save for a few fights with other rank and file soldiers who dared to insult him, Mike was visibly warming up to him. It seemed that the Squad Leader realized that Levi wasn’t going anywhere and that if Levi was important to Erwin, he should be important to Mike as well.

But the person who was most important to Levi was undoubtedly Erwin himself. The man had raised Levi up from the slums and dared to believe that he could be better than was. A better warrior, a true soldier. A better man. And his faith in Levi was so unwavering that Levi was beginning to believe it himself. The hate that had been there initially was now long gone, worn away over the course of the last year in the face of Erwin’s unending patience and tolerance. When Levi tried to provoke him, the man rebuffed him calmly. When Levi grew frustrated with his duties and training, Erwin was always the one to smooth things over and set Levi back on the correct path. Erwin never once led him astray, always giving direction and orders backed up by solid reasoning and a certain degree of care that never quite left those crystal blue eyes whenever they looked at Levi.

These three made Levi feel less lonesome but he was still undeniably alone. The holiday season only amplified that with the majority of the Corps taking leave to go home to their families for several days. Levi watched the base empty of soldiers, all of them excited and full of laughter and smiles, strolling through the gates with packs over their shoulders, until the corridors were silent and the dining hall was nearly empty every meal. Levi of course stayed put. He had nowhere to go and no one to see. The Underground was no longer his home and even if it was, he had little desire to ever return there. His mother was long dead, he had never known his father and only God knew where Kenny had disappeared to. There was no one else. So he prepared for a Christmas spent by himself.

It was Christmas Eve and he was sitting quietly in the dining hall, picking at the last of his food and thinking about what he would do for the rest of the evening, when Hange suddenly appeared across from him.

“Hey Levi!” Her voice was as bright as ever, her brown eyes shining with barely contained excitement.

Levi eyed her suspiciously. “What do you want, four-eyes?”

“I’ve been looking for you,” she told him, gesturing enthusiastically with her hands.

“Why?” Levi demanded, pausing with his spoon halfway to his mouth. A sudden thought occurred to him then. “Why are you still here anyway?”

Hange’s brows furrowed in momentary confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Here, as in the base,” Levi clarified with an irritated edge in his voice. “Don’t you have relatives to visit or something?”

“Oh that!” Hange let out a peal of laughter. “Nah. My immediate family is either dead or doesn’t wish to speak to me so I always spend my holidays here.”

Levi blinked at her stark yet somehow light-hearted admission. He hadn’t been expecting that response. “Oh,” was all he could think to say in return.

“Hurry up with your food already,” Hange barreled on without another thought for her previous statement. “I want you to come have a drink with me.”

Levi couldn’t deny that a drink sounded good but he grumbled, “Don’t rush me, shitty glasses. I’ll be done when I’m done.”

Hange waited patiently as Levi ate the remainder of his stew and cornbread, rambling in her typical fashion about the experiments she’d conducted that morning in her lab. It seemed she didn’t see the need to halt all her work just because it was a holiday and Levi found that both admirable and practical, as well as a bit pathetic. But, he supposed, not so different from himself. He had spent his own morning working in the stables, after all. Just because it was Christmas Eve didn’t mean the horses would feed themselves.

The moment Levi stood up to take his bowl and spoon to the dirty bin, Hange grabbed his arm and jerked him toward the door. She was surprisingly fast when she wanted to be, catching him off guard. The dishes fell from his loose fingers, clattering to the floor as she drug him away.

“Hange, what the hell?” Levi yelped in surprise.

Hange laughed joyously. “The kitchen staff will be bored. Something extra for them to do. Besides, they’re waiting for us.”

“Wait, who’s they? Where are we going?” Levi tried to jerk his arm free of Hange’s grip but her fingers were unrelenting, a steel vice around his bicep. He stumbled after her, discombobulated in the wake of her enthusiasm. “Hange! Don’t drag me along like some mangy dog!”

“Oh Levi, we both know you could never be mangy! And you’re far too grumpy to be a dog!”

“Shut up, shitty glasses!”

Levi wasn’t sure where he had been expecting Hange to take him. Perhaps outside into the softly falling snow and bitter air and out through the gates, headed into Trost toward the tavern near the base. Perhaps to her lab or even her quarters, where they sometimes spent quiet afternoons wrapped in their individual work, Hange writing reports or working on her research logs, Levi tinkering with his maneuver gear or some piece of his horse’s tack in need of maintenance. But he hadn’t expected her to take a turn down the hallway that led straight to Erwin’s office.

She didn’t pause at the door to knock or otherwise announce her presence. She simply turned the knob and burst into the spacious room, pulling Levi along behind her like so much baggage. “Erwin! I’ve got him!” she declared without preamble.

Erwin wasn’t behind his desk like usual, Levi saw immediately. Instead he was perched on the front edge of it, his long legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankle. A tumbler of some amber liquid was in one hand, likely an expensive whiskey. Levi knew Erwin had a taste for the stuff when he did drink, which wasn’t all that often. A lit cigar was between the fingers of his other hand and that was a new one; Levi hadn’t known Erwin to have a liking for such things at all.

“Ah Hange! Welcome back!” Erwin greeted, looking up with a smile. It was wide and brilliant and for a moment Levi found that he couldn’t breathe. He’d never seen quite that expression on Erwin’s face before. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen the man smile certainly, but this was different. There was nothing fake or polite or reserved about this. It was undoubtedly genuine, reaching his eyes and lighting them from within with an unmistakable warmth. Levi couldn’t help but notice the way his eyes crinkled at the corners just a bit. He thought in that moment that he’d never seen a smile as beautiful as Erwin Smith’s.

“You brought Levi?” Erwin continued, his gaze falling on the small form Hange had dragged in behind her. “Wonderful.”

“Poor thing was all by himself in the dining hall,” Hange said, as if that explained everything.

“Hey,” Levi groused. “Don’t talk about me like I’m not right here.”

Erwin chuckled. “I told Hange to go get you so you could join us for a drink in celebration of the holiday, Levi.”

Hange released Levi’s arm and went to close the door, as if to cut off any sort of escape route that Levi may or may not have been plotting in his head. Levi didn’t move from the spot she’d left him in, not sure what he should be doing with himself. Erwin motioned to the nearby couch.

“Please have a seat and I’ll get you a drink. What would you like?”

“Um,” Levi sputtered. “Scotch I guess?” He hated the way it came out as a question but the offer was so unexpected he found himself caught off guard for the second time in much too short a time.

“I happen to have a fine scotch I think you’ll like,” Erwin said, pushing off from his desk. He set his glass aside and headed for the liquor cabinet in the far corner, that smile still lingering on his lips.

Levi turned to take a seat on the couch and was suddenly faced with Mike taking up one whole end of the piece of furniture, sprawled on the cushions with a glass of what looked like brandy and one ankle resting casually on the opposite knee. His massive frame managed to make the couch look small. He looked up and greeted Levi with a nod. Levi returned the gesture and sat on the other end of the couch. No sooner had he settled himself into the plush cushions than Erwin was back, standing in front of him and leaning down slightly to offer Levi a glass of liquor.

“Oh!” Levi said, reaching out to take it. “Thank you.”

“Of course. I hope it’s to your liking.” Erwin straightened up and moved away, perching himself back on the edge of his desk. “Hange, I refilled your drink.”

“Oh good!” Hange strode over quickly from the door and grabbed her glass from the corner of Erwin’s desk. Levi noticed that she had taken her tall uniform boots off; that must have been what was taking her a few extra moments over by the door. She flopped down onto the couch between Levi and Mike in a flurry of limbs and brown hair, already gulping her drink.

Levi sat quietly as he sipped his scotch, listening to the conversation the others were engaged in. The liquor was indeed fine and he savored it, drinking it slowly and appreciating the way it burned the back of his throat going down. Trust Erwin to have only the best. The man’s taste was impeccable, after all. Levi watched the easy interaction between the three of his companions and couldn’t help but feel a tad jealous. It was obvious that there was a degree of familiarity they shared that Levi himself had rarely experienced with anyone. Even with Farlan and Isabel, he had kept parts of himself carefully guarded. But there didn’t seem to be any walls like that with these three. Even Mike was engaged in the talk, throwing in a sentence or two here and there. Levi was surprised to find that he wanted to be part of that, of this, whatever this was.

Still, even just sitting there silently with them was an improvement over sitting in his quarters alone on Christmas Eve.

Levi was jolted out of his private reverie when Erwin pushed away from his desk once again, setting his empty glass aside and reaching instead for a small stack of three neatly wrapped packages. “I didn’t have much time this year to get gifts for people, so it’s not much,” Erwin said with an apologetic air even as he handed a box to Mike, then to Hange.

“Erwin, you didn’t have to get us anything,” Mike said in his deep voice, his dusty blue gaze following his best friend.

“I know, but I wanted to,” Erwin replied with a small grin. “Besides, you guys always get something for me so I had to return the favor.”

Levi found himself startled once more when Erwin appeared before him suddenly, holding out the third and last package. “This is for you, Levi,” he said gently, waiting patiently as Levi visibly tried to process the very idea that he was being given a gift. Finally, the smaller man reached out to accept the parcel with uncertain fingers, looking up at Erwin in mild confusion. “Merry Christmas, Levi,” Erwin murmured, that same warm smile gracing his lips again before he moved away.

Beside Levi, Hange and Mike were exchanging packages with one another and Levi realized that there was yet more exchanging of gifts going on. Before he could fully process that he was the only one who had arrived sans presents, Hange was turning to him and handing over two more wrapped parcels, fairly shoving them into his fumbling hands.

“Hange-“ Levi began, wanting to protest that he didn’t need gifts, that he was just a lowly soldier and no one special, that he didn’t have anything to give back, but she cut him off.

“These are from Mike and I,” she said, the words tumbling out in a rush. “Merry Christmas, Levi!” Behind her, Mike was nodding in agreement.

“Um, I,” Levi sputtered, clutching the packages to his chest to avoid dropping any of them. “I don’t have anything for you.”

Hange waved a hand dismissively. “It’s fine. We never gave you any notice that this was happening after all. Not your fault you were unprepared.”

“This is how we do Christmas in the Survey Corps, I’m afraid,” Erwin spoke up from his place where he’d perched against his desk again. He raised a shoulder in a minute shrug. “There isn’t much planning involved and it’s very spur of the moment.”

“It’s the one time every year we can be spontaneous!” Hange cried, making a sweeping gesture so wide that Mike had to lean out of the way to avoid getting smacked in the face. “We spend so much time planning everything to the smallest detail that it’s just a treat to not have to do so for one day.”

Levi nodded slowly. “I understand. Thank you.”

Hange’s smile was so wide Levi could have sworn her molars were visible. “Of course! There was no way we weren’t going to include you.” She clapped her hands excitedly. “Let’s open our presents! I can’t wait to see what useless thing you got me this year, Mike.” She plucked the first gift from her lap and began tearing into it with gusto. Beside her, Mike shot her a glare that lacked any real venom as he started unwrapping the first of his own gifts. From over by the desk, Erwin let out a deep chuckle at their exchange.

Levi was struck by how light and carefree Erwin seemed in the company of his most trusted friends. Perhaps it was the lack of serious work to be done, the liquor, the holiday spirit or a combination of all three, but Levi had never seen the man appear so open, so approachable, so human. It was mesmerizing and he found it difficult to tear his attention away long enough to join his comrades in the opening of gifts.

Levi could count on one hand the number of presents he’d received in his life and none of them had been anything special, certainly nothing expensive. So he couldn’t help but feel a tad guilty as he opened the ones he’d been given by his companions. The thought that they had spent time and effort and hard earned money with him in mind was difficult to process; he almost didn’t feel worthy of it all. Still he couldn’t quite keep the tiny smile from curving his lips as he unearthed a big bag of his favorite saltwater taffy from Hange, brought from the general store in town, and a new pocketknife from Mike. He’d broken the one he’d had on the last expedition, using it to saw through the leather straps of a soldier’s harness to free him from where he’d been trapped and hung up underneath his fallen horse. Levi had been intending to go into Trost on his next day off and buy a new one but he hadn’t had the money just yet. The fact that Mike had noticed he’d been without one was both surprising and comforting. Perhaps there were people here that were actually looking out for him, after all.

The gift from Erwin was the last one left. Levi opened it to find a brand new cravat nestled on a bed of light blue tissue paper. The box was from a high-end retailer whose name Levi recognized. He knew they were based in Sina but it had been months since Erwin had been to the capital. The implications of that little fact, that the man had planned this far in advance, brought a tinge of heat to Levi’s cheeks. The cravat had to have been expensive; it was pristine pure white and made of the finest silk Levi had ever touched, smooth and heavenly between his fingers.

“Erwin,” he said suddenly, looking up only to find the other man’s gaze already on him, watching. That only brought more heat to Levi’s face. Beside him on the couch, Hange and Mike were engaged in a private conversation spoken in teasing tones and dotted with laughter, oblivious to anything else. “I can’t take this. It’s too much,” Levi continued, holding up the box with the cravat folded inside it.

“I won’t take it back,” Erwin said with a shake of his head. He seemed to understand what Levi was trying to say. “I knew your old one is getting pretty shabby and I knew you would appreciate this.” The words were true; Levi self-consciously reached up with his free hand to touch the cravat currently around his neck, feeling how it was beginning to fray at the edges. Again he was struck by that same disbelief that someone was paying attention to the details of his day to day life.

“Please keep it,” Erwin said quietly. “It would make me happy if you did.”

Levi hesitated for a moment then lowered the box back down into his lap. “Alright then,” he murmured. “Thank you.”

After that, Levi found himself unexpectedly invested in the conversation swirling throughout the room as more liquor was poured and more cigars smoked. He couldn’t resist tearing into the taffy and when Hange noticed, a wide grin split her face though she chose not to comment on it. As the time passed, Levi found himself relaxing more and more, until he felt more at ease than he had since joining the ranks of the Corps over a year ago. If this was truly what Christmas was like every year, he began to think he could get used to it.

It was after midnight when everyone’s eyes began to droop with sleep. Mike was the first to get up, offering a hand to Hange. She took it with a laugh, allowing him to pull her up from the couch. Mike pulled a little too hard and Hange was a little too tipsy and she stumbled, pitching headlong for the floor until Mike’s brawny arm shot out to catch her around the waist. “Easy, Hange,” Mike said with a small grin, setting her upright again.

“Thanks, big guy,” she said with laughter in her voice, patting his arm where it twined around her. Then she suddenly seemed to remember something else and twisted in Mike’s grip to look at Levi. “Oh! Happy birthday, Levi!”

Levi jolted in surprise. He had forgotten it was past midnight and now officially Christmas Day and his birthday. “Thanks, four-eyes,” he mumbled, flushing slightly.

“I’d give you a big hug but I don’t think I could manage without crushing you,” she said cheerily.

Levi held up a hand. “Don’t worry about it.”

Hange laughed. “There’s always next year!” She poked at Mike’s arm. “I’m tired. Take me back to my quarters.”

Mike indulged her, gathering her up in his capable arms and heading for the door where he paused. “Goodnight, Erwin and thanks.” His blue eyes settled on Levi then and Levi was surprised to see the fondness in them. “Happy birthday, Levi.”

Before Levi could gather himself enough to respond, Mike was gone and Hange with him. Erwin was at the door, one foot in the hallway as he watched them go, that warm smile on his lips again. He called a goodnight after them before stepping back into the room.

Levi had risen from the couch as well, his gifts tucked securely under his arm. He shifted a tad nervously before looking up to meet Erwin’s gaze. “Thank you for everything, Erwin.” His words were quiet and simple but he knew the other man would see all of the many different meanings behind them.

Erwin nodded. “You’re welcome.” He paused, as if debating on whether or not to say anything else, then continued. “You’ll never be alone here in the Corps, you know. Not as long as I’m around.”

Levi swallowed thickly and nodded, not trusting himself to reply. He made his way to the door but found his way blocked when Erwin stepped in front of him at the last moment. “Erwin, wha-?” he started to say but suddenly found his sentence cut off when Erwin leaned down and kissed him.

Levi stiffened in surprise at first; to say that such a thing was unexpected was an understatement. Unexpected but not unwelcome, he realized with sudden clarity, as Erwin’s lips hesitated against his, ready to pull away. Levi moved quickly, raising the arm not clutching his presents to hook his hand around the back of Erwin’s neck and pull him down. Levi kissed back eagerly, leaning up onto his toes. Now it was Erwin’s turn to be surprised, though it didn’t last long. It wasn’t long before they had both run out of breath and parted, Levi gasping as Erwin’s tongue swiped along his lower lip. As soon as there was space between them, Levi surprised himself with how badly he wanted to kiss Erwin again.

“What was that for?” he managed to get out as he tried to catch his breath.

Erwin’s smile was fond, his eyes full of warmth. “Happy birthday, Levi.”


End file.
